Home Owners Associations
(HOAs) and Condo Associations are also coming after your property rights. While
you acquiesced to certain terms in a Deed of Declaration when you moved into a
certain subdivision, you did not envision the power that HOAs would try to gain
over the use of your home, the property surrounding it, or your condo.
Virginia lawmakers are
currently under fire for House Bill 791 that, they say, “Curbs powers of
homeowners associations.” Those who reject the bill say that it does “the exact
opposite and could even lead to homeowners losing their electricity for
infractions.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/4/virginia-lawmakers-bicker-over-hoa-bill-george-orw/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Sen. Chap Peterson
(D-Fairfax) told Watchdog.org that “Somewhere George Orwell is rolling over in
his grave. What we’re doing here is saying that a homeowner association, even
if it doesn’t have power stated in [its] charter, will be allowed to exercise
additional powers.” Peterson, an attorney, said that the fine print of the bill
allows HOAs to fine homeowners $50 per day for simple things such as leaving
out toys or hanging Christmas lights.
Sen. Chap Peterson said
that HB 791, passed by the Senate 31-9, would overturn the “traditional
Virginia law stating that HOAs only held that power conferred by their
authorizing document, i.e. the Deed of Declaration.” This limitation is almost
gone, replaced by HOA Boards and Condo Boards that can levy fines and penalties
against homeowners even if that power is not stated in the original documents. “These
boards now have the power which is not even held by City Councils or County
Boards, i.e. the power to assess and collect fines (and assert a lien against
property) even without a court order.” https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152305071561255&set=vb.698576254&type=theater
Delegate Jim LeMunyon (R-Chantilly), the
co-sponsor of the alleged HOA-friendly bill, said in a letter sent to a
constituent that “The origin of the bill is a conversation with a woman I met
knocking on doors last fall. She is in
her 60s and wants to retire with the equity in her town home. Unfortunately
some neighbors have left their town homes in disrepair, reducing the value of
her home – and trampling on her property rights – by tens of thousands of
dollars. And her HOA is virtually powerless to do anything about it because of
the conflicting court cases.”
Democrats and Republicans
in northern Virginia are objecting to HB 791, “a bill giving draconian
extra-legal powers to homeowner associations.” Critics call it “an end-run
around property rights.
http://fairfaxfreecitizen.com/2014/03/04/commentary/post/democrat-tea-party-hammer-homeowner-condo-bill-kenric-ward/
If this bill passes,
HOAs have the right to “suspend a unit owner’s right to use facilities or
services… for nonpayment of assessments” and to “assess charges against any
unit owner for any violation” or regulations committed by their visitors,
unless expressly prohibited by written contract.
Anybody who owns a
home in an HOA-controlled subdivision can understand the frustration with the
Board of Directors who is often composed of power hungry volunteers who like to
control other people’s lives in an asinine manner. HOA power grab goes beyond the directive to keep
grass mowed and property in decent repair.
HOAs tell owners when
to power-wash driveways, decks, fences, paint, cut down trees because of
squirrels, replace dull sconces, change the color scheme of the mail boxes each
year, which side of the house to install TV antennas on, whether you can have a
deck, a patio, pending their approval of the builder’s plan, a storage shed, a vegetable
garden, a flower garden, fly the American flag, have Christmas or Easter
decorations, etc. The HOA directives can be hundreds of pages long.
My friend’s HOA has
made her life a living hell. She was told to replace her expensive fence
although two contractors said that it did not need replacing and it was in much
better condition than most fences in the community. They backed down. One of
her neighbors was fined $900 for not switching a sconce and post lamplight from
brass to “shiny” brass. Another neighbor did not finish on time his forced staining
of his deck, resulting in a fine that continued to add up. Some homeowners were
fined because the mail boxes were not identical. And the list of “infractions” seems
endless. The residents who complain about the abuse of power are treated extra
rudely, unfairly, with disdain, and prejudice.
If HB 791 passes in
Virginia, instead of curbing the out-of-control power of HOAs and Condo Boards,
it will give them almost unlimited power over private property, homes, and
condos.
No comments:
Post a Comment